Does the Subaru Legacy fail the MOT on body, chassis and structure more than it should?
The Subaru Legacy records 12.80 body, chassis and structure failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 11.12 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+1.68, 95% interval +1.34 to +2.02). It ranks 186 of 663 models on body, chassis and structure (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on body, chassis and structure · check a Subaru Legacy by registration
What exactly fails on body, chassis and structure?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Subaru Legacy is “A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated”, recorded 1,481 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated | 1,481 | 3.49 |
| Exhaust system leaking or insecure | 1,416 | 3.33 |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 1,376 | 3.24 |
| Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced | 272 | 0.64 |
| Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point | 259 | 0.61 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 42,459 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Subaru Legacy gets a body, chassis and structure advisory, how often does it fail next time?
18.9% of Subaru Legacy MOTs with a body, chassis and structure advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 4,388 miles later (2,929 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,929 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Subaru Legacy 2000 · Subaru Legacy 2001 · Subaru Legacy 2002 · Subaru Legacy 2003 · Subaru Legacy 2004 · Subaru Legacy 2005 · Subaru Legacy 2006 · Subaru Legacy 2007 · Subaru Legacy 2008 · Subaru Legacy 2009 · Subaru Legacy 2010 · Subaru Legacy 2011 · Subaru Legacy 2012 · Subaru Legacy 2013 · Subaru Legacy in Norway · Subaru Legacy in Finland · Subaru Legacy in the Netherlands · Subaru Legacy by postcode area · Subaru Legacy brakes failures · Subaru Legacy vehicle identification failures · Subaru Legacy lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Subaru Legacy noise, emissions and leaks failures · Subaru Legacy road wheels failures · Subaru Legacy seat belts and airbags failures · Subaru Legacy steering failures · Subaru Legacy suspension failures · Subaru Legacy tyres failures · Subaru Legacy visibility failures